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When a young, energetic employee joins a public relations firm with an introverted and severely misunderstood boss, she makes it her life’s mission to show the world who he really is.

Eun Hwan Ki is the boss at a PR company. He is really shy. So shy that even his employees don’t know him that well. He prefers to hide in his office. Everyone thinks he is a cold, prickly, arrogant grouch. They call him the “Silent Monster”.

Chae Ro Woon is a recent hire at the same company. She is energetic, bubbly, loves to be the center of attention and always has something to say. The exact opposite of her boss, who she seems to have an old grudge against. Her goal in life is: to expose the big boss man for who he really is and take her revenge.

The same company also employs Kang Woo Il, co-boss at the company. He, unlike his partner, is warm, sensitive and well-liked.

Eun Yi Soo is a chaebol heiress who has been engaged for three long years.

I’ve read so much bad reviews about this drama, but I thought I’ll check it out and see for myself.

What I would have to say about this is that viewers should watch past episode 5 and decide from then on. Personally, I think the story became clearer after that episode and it could be the deciding factor to continue on or not. For some reason, it is the turn point of the whole drama because it reveals a lot of the hidden past from the main character. Another thing is that this drama could have ended at episode 14. They still had to prolong it and go through all new plot problems to fill in those last 2 episodes which is a bit of a clincher for me. I hate fillers in my drama because it’s frustrating. Nonetheless aside that, it was still an enjoyable watch.

The drama has an annoying lead female character called Chae Ro Woon acted by Park Hye Soo. I actually loved this girl ever since I’ve seen her in the drama “Age of Youth” and she sort of resembles Moon Geun Young so I have a soft spot for her, but not her character in this drama. I am irritated as to how the writers and producers let her portray her character. For the first few episodes of the drama she was TOO aggressive for my liking to the point that I’m exasperated and simply want to give up on her. However, in the later episodes her character became redeemable and more acceptable which was sort of a relief. Then there’s the shy boss Eun Hwan Ki acted by Yeon Woo Jin. I really liked the guy, even though this is the first drama I’ve seen him as a lead. He did justice to his character and definitely made people misunderstand him. Yet, he looked so cute even as he seemed so helpless in every misunderstood situation. Then there’s also the actress Han Chae Ah who’s character’s name is Chae Ji Hye and acted as Chae Ro Woon’s older sister. I know her role is quite minor in all of this but she’s the catalyst of the whole storyline so I wouldn’t want to leave her out. I like how mellow and deep her character is. She also has this sense of softness around her, not too beautiful but charming enough to be liked as she is. I like how her own story unfolded in the drama and how her part explained a lot of things despite her minimal appearance.

There are dramas which I could solely focus on the main leads and there are dramas in which I love the sub characters more than the main ones. This is one of those dramas, whereas the supporting roles are so much more enjoyable that I want to know more about their background stories. Another thing about the supporting characters, two of them came from the drama “Another Miss Oh” while there are others from the same drama who made a cameo. That tidbit threw me off in a laughing fit because for one, I love AMO and all the characters that’s why seeing them here in this drama was double the fun.

The cinematography was alright since most of the scenes were caught indoors and in small spaces but when they do some roof top shot and outdoor scenes, they could really be lovely. I truly appreciate those special angles in which the framing of the main subject in the scene becomes picture perfect. Music wise, only one song got stuck in my head and that’s the opening song for the series and nothing else. The OST wasn’t really anything special to remember by. Overall the drama was fun, I couldn’t say it was light because it did made me cry at times and it had its own heavy-heart-clenching scenes. I might re-watch this someday most likely because I missed the sub characters and I would recommend this for those who wants to watch something in between humor and drama.

Han Se Joo was a writer in his past life during the 1930s Japanese occupation of Korea. He has been reincarnated and is a bestselling author in the modern day. But Se Joo is depressed and has writer’s block that keeps him from completing his next bestseller.
Yoo Jin Oh is a talented ghostwriter who can bail Se Joo out of his predicament, but the mysterious man has a condition for his services that Se Joo may not be able to meet.
Jeon Seol is a veterinarian and book lover who runs her own delivery service. She becomes an anti-fan of the overrated Se Joo.

I’m not a fan of the crossover between the past to present being intertwined via incarnation but the way this drama delivered that kind of plot was really interesting that’s why I watched along. However, that interest did dwindle as I passed through episode 10 when things started becoming cheesy, but it did redeem itself at around the last two episodes where everything became clearer.

This drama has its own target audience and maybe they would be up for the popularity of the actors, it did highly market the actors for me, but aside that… something just felt missing. You know that feeling when you’re watching a drama and you can’t just get enough of it? I didn’t really feel it with this one, hence I got really disappointed because I was expecting so much from it.

Aside from my above rantings here are the following elements that are worth mentioning: actors, cinematography and OST.

Let’s start with the 3 lead roles:
Yoo Ah In as Han Se Joo, I felt like he was over the top for this particular character. He could have downgraded it a bit and at least acted as how most authors really lived. It felt like he was a top actor instead of an acclaimed writer who was supposed to be eccentric, in this drama he came across as a guy straight out of a magazine who lived in Beverly Hills. Don’t get me wrong, I love the actor himself but I’m not a fan of his Se Joo character. I do admit that he has a complex role since he had to have the weight of his past character and his present one, but still… it could have been better. However, even though that’s the case for his present character, I couldn’t say the same to his past one, Seo Hui Young because he really nailed that bad ass role. I love how charismatic he was as the writer during the 1930’s and being in a covert rebellion at the same time. He was witty and stuck with his own principles. That’s the kind of character I love rooting for, the lonely-brooding kind of guy who believes he can make a difference in the world despite sacrificing himself and everyone he cares about. Nuff said. Im Soo Jung the female lead who acted as Jeon Seol/ Ryu Su Hyeon, she was a sniper in the past with the alias “Anastasia”. I definitely like the fact that she’s a strong character, not just in the past but as well in the present. She can still pick up a gun and kick ass despite her traumatic visions. The fact that in the present, she’s also an avid fan and at least knows her limitations… its makes her more amusing. As for the last character Go Kyung Pyo as Yoo Jin Oh/Shin Yul is such a charismatic guy. He also has this cool relationship going on with Yoo Ah In’s character in which they have some sort of unspoken bond. The bromance was palpable I could certainly compare to the Goblin and Grim Reaper’s relationship the Goblin Drama. Aside that, another thing that I find interesting from his character is that during the past and the present he had that appealing aura in his stature all throughout the drama. I find him both cute and endearing at the same time. Oh, and kudos to his stylist too because he dressed up oh so damn well!

The cinematography for the drama is breathtaking. I think the fact that this was shot during the spring, it made everything look so colorful and vibrant. I just loved it. Even the indoor shoot of interior was wonderful, I love how the director was able to capture those lines of books, arches of windowsill and the nook and crannies of Han Se Joo’s house. It was really pretty to look at. Lastly there’s the OST. It was memorable and did pull my heart strings at the right moment particularly during those heart-racing-revealing-moments of the show. I like how the melody can stir emotions out of me.

Overall it was interesting enough to sit down and watch through but not really something I would go on to enjoy and binge watch with in one go. I may not re-watch this again but I would recommend it to the fans of the actors and those who like the type of story with twist and turns along the way.

The Moorim School isn’t focused solely on high academic scores. The school teaches its students virtues including honesty, faith, sacrifice and communication. The teachers and students at the school come from different countries and each have their own stories.

This drama reminded me so much of “Dream High 2” and all its elements: bad storyline, worst casting of idol actors, ridiculous plot problems, cheesy love triangles and cliché all over the place. It’s like watching that drama all over again only with a PLUS factor- the absurd action scenes. The only redeeming part of this drama for me was the main lead, Lee Hyun Woo because he looks so much like Park Bo Gum! I just had to watch it for him despite everything else. Heh. Other than that, there’s nothing worth mentioning in this drama.

Music isn’t memorable, cinematography is so-so, cg for the mystical stuff was obvious and annoyed the hell out of me. The story was also supposed to be filled with action scenes because it’s supposed to be about a school that trains high school kids martial arts. But that’s not the case, this drama had more talk than action sequences and if the fights do come in, they are so badly choreographed. It made me cringe while I watched. I really feel bad for the casting of this drama, there were some actors in this series whose talents were wasted. I’ve seen some of them in other dramas and they were really good, while the other young ones had budding potentials. It’s really sad that they ended with a botched up drama like this but I guess I also have KBS production to blame for the subpar quality. It didn’t have the capacity to make this a top notch action packed drama that I expected.

After my ranting, I’m obviously not going to re-watch this drama for everything else I’ve mentioned, so why did I include it in my reviews? It’s so you won’t have to waste 16 hours of your life on such an unfulfilling drama. If you still do watch it, don’t blame me. I’ve done my part.

About 500 years ago during the time of Chosun Dynasty, Korea boasted a rigidly hierarchical and male dominated social structure. Based on a true story about a legendary girl, Jang Geum, who became the first woman to be the supreme royal physician of her times. Despite her poor condition as a low class girl in the male dominated society, Jang Geum overcame a series of social discrimination and landed herself as a royal cook, later becoming the royal physician, then ultimately the physician in charge of the king. She was even given by the king the title “The Great Jang Geum.” The story of her checkered life on her success and breakdown as well as her love story beautifully unfold.

This was the very first sageuk drama I have ever experienced. I can’t believe I was able to finish all those episodes along with my PARENTS. Yes. I hooked my parents into the Kdrama world with this show. If my parents loved this, then I’m betting you would too.

Jang Geum is not an ordinary drama because it was actually based in real life. In history, she is known to be a palace cook turned into royal physician but of course, like all adaptations of history books, producers has their ways in tweaking with the storyline so a lot may have been changed. Setting that thought aside, I have enjoyed all 60 episodes of Jang Geum because in every episode, there are always different conflicts. In which will be solved on the next episode or the next. It keeps me on my toes and I just couldn’t help but get addicted to it. I like the thought that Jang Geum had great mentors so she could become the person whom the king trusted her to be. Then she also had different support systems: mainly King Jungjong, Capt. Min Jung Ho (the love interest), Yeon Saeng (her best friend), Lady Han Baek Young (her mentor) having this people around her she was able to survive the harsh world within the palace. Set things straight and become the Dae (meaning great) Jang Geum that she is known up to this date.

Oh and yeah, not to forget the romantic moments between Jang Geum and Jung Ho. Watching them in all those lovey-dovey moments was worth every tears I’ve shed for this drama.

Chae Gyeong is an ordinary art high school student. One day, she hears totally unexpected news that, based on her grandfathers will, she must marry the unemotional Crown Prince Lee Shin who attends the same high school. Chae Gyeong resists the proposal, but reluctantly marries him to help her debt-ridden family. As she struggles to adapt herself to the proper manners and royal duties of palace life and to her disagreeable husband, Lee Shins sentimental cousin and second-in-line to the throne Yul steps into her life. She feels like she can rely on Yul to help her, but can’t help worrying about her haughty, cold-hearted husband. To help bridge this gap, the senior members of the royal family take some special measures to get them to spend the night together.

I have finished this drama on its first airing and tt was quite a sensation back then in 2006. Goong has 24 episodes all in all. The setting was beautiful, you can see the Korean culture in a colorful and splendid way. The cast were also great while the soundtrack was just perfect for every scene and the palace was definitely looked cozy. This drama was an adaptation from a Manhwa which is considered as the Korean comics. They have used the plot which was almost the same as the original storyline, I say almost because as the usual way of every drama/movie adaptations, they mangle a lot of things and change it unnecessarily. I hate it when they do a lot of significant changes to the story because it ruins the writer’s original work.

Anyways, that being said… this is the show where I started liking Eun Hye as an actress. After watching this, I’ve followed several of the dramas she starred in and definitely enjoyed her acting style. While Joo Ji Hoon who played as Shin, her leading man was also gorgeous for a Korean guy, although his eyes is too squinty for my taste, but nonetheless I still liked him and his character. His character is a tsundere which means a person who seems uncaring and moody, but deep inside he just cares too much of others than himself. Then there’s Kim Jeong Hoon who acted as Lee Yul was cute and my heart went out for him as he was that guy who had to endure an unrequited love when all he wanted was for Chae Gyung to love him back that’s why he wanted to be the crowned prince. Lastly we have Song Ji Hyo who acted as Min Hyo Rin, and oh man was she just perfect for the role. She was the girl that Shin first proposed to before getting married to Chae Gyung, she seems to be the cold girl who acted like there was nothing that could ever bother her, but deep inside, her heart is crumbling to pieces as she watches Shin fall in love with Chae Gyung little by little.

The beginning of the show was really cute and Shin Chae-gyung’s character was just adorable and funny. She was a normal teenage high school girl who was clumsy, a bit stupid, always smiling, getting into tons of trouble and yet has a pure heart. Her life drastically changed after meeting Shin, the crowned prince after over hearing him propose marriage to a certain girl. Then she was thrown into an arranged marriage with the crowned prince after finding out the marriage agreement was done by her grandfather and the king’s father when they were born. As the story progressed, there were some draggy moments that I have overlooked because the setting and music was just beautiful and I can’t just help myself but watch it even if the lines have been too redundant. The ending was gorgeous for me because of the setting but storyline wise it was quite bland for my taste and went way off with where the whole story was really supposed to be. It gave me a sense of confusion which I didn’t really like. Although I felt this way towards the ending I am still giving it a 9/10 because it was compensated with other areas in the drama that I have already mentioned which is also essential for making this a top rated Kdrama.

This is the second saguek I have rated 10/10 in a very long time. The first one was “Jewel in the Palace” and I didn’t expect that this drama would exceed that one. To give you an overview about the series, the story is a prequel to the drama “Tree with Deep Roots” which was aired on 2011. The story runs during the end of Goryeo era and the opening to a new country called Joseon.

The writers and producers has so much material to work with since according to history, this is where the first royal annals (records of the king) started. Having that as a solid background to a great story in the making, they were able to show how beautiful and frightening it was to live in those days. Days in which freedom was what the common people could only dream of. I give my kudos to the director and the people behind this drama for being able to produce something so outstanding (FYI: Six Flying Dragons won multiple Baeksang Awards, a prestigious award in Korea for the best drama shows). Another side to this drama is the political aspect, it was so intense that watching this without proper subtitle would have been bad for your health if you cannot understand the Korean language. The dialogues could be heart wrenching one minute then an eye opener the next. What made this drama peculiar for me is that usually, sagueks leaves a lot of moral lessons in life and has a clear cut on what is right or wrong, but here… YOU have to be your own judge as to what you deem is right. Everything is grey especially to one of the main characters specifically Yi Bang Won. For him, everything has a means and a justification in order to reach the ultimate goal, a goal that benefits a lot of people by sacrificing a few. You get what I mean? That said, the drama story is long but it’s not tiring to follow because there is always progress in every episode as the characters come to an individual realization, then gets together for a common cause and finally outgrow each other.

What I love about this drama is that it has a lot of powerful characters. There are a total of six main ones, hence the title and they are portrayed by actors that could stand up to their roles. My favorite would be Yi Bang Won which I have already mentioned earlier and was portrayed by my beloved actor Yoo Ah In. He has the most character growth in the 50 episodes that I’ve seen him, as he started as a naïve child, to being an adolescent who wants to change his country and finally as a king. His thought process was also very different from the rest of the characters that’s why I love watching him and see what he would be scheming up next and he is one seriously complicated guy. My second character choice, would be Moo Yool acted by Yoon Kyun Sang, this guy here is seriously pure heart and pure strength. He is the total opposite of Bang Won who is witty and manipulative. It’s no wonder that he and Bang Won complement each other’s character, he’s just too nice and loyal. My third and last favorite character is Bang Ji acted by Byun Yo Han, this guy is a fantastic swordsman and his fighting skills are… I just get speechless every time he gets a fight scene. He has gone through so much hardship that all I wish for him is a tiny-bit of happiness. I like the fact that he is loyal to the person he loves and to the person he decided to follow until end. As for the rest of the other main characters namely: Boon Yi, Sambong and Yi Seong Gye… I feel that they are all on the same level of liking in my rating book. It’s just that there wasn’t much character progress for any of them since they are utterly stuck to their own principles. Aside that… there are a lot of other sub characters who also gave light to the show but I would leave that for the viewers to judge and pinpoint who they like.

The soundtrack of this drama was awesome and unforgettable. It has been more than a year since I’ve seen the drama and yet the songs still run in my head and I could still sing a few verses. It added dramatic luster to the scenes, the songs that would be played in the background is like a clue as to how intense each scene was going to be. I give two thumbs up for their choice of music.

I will be re-watching this drama in the near future, since I miss the characters and would want to relieve each moments with them but for now I highly recommend this drama for all the saguek lovers out there.

Early in his reign, King Se Jong accidentally causes the death of his in-laws and their slaves in an attempt to save them from his brutal father, King Tae Jong. Two young slaves, Ddol Bok and his friend Dam, survive but neither knows the other has. Ddol Bok blames the king and vows to kill him to avenge the deaths of everyone he loved. He spends several years becoming a great warrior. Dam, who has a photographic memory, becomes a court lady called So Yi, but she feels so guilty about her role in the other slaves’ deaths that she is mute.

Ddol Bok returns to the palace under the name of Kang Chae Yoon in order to kill the king. However, he becomes embroiled in the mystery surrounding the deaths of several Hall of Worthies scholars. The deaths were caused by a secret society called “Hidden Root,” which was created long ago by followers of Jeong Do Jeon, with the goal of giving more power to ministers and less to the king. King Tae Jong killed Jeong Do Jeon and all of his family except his nephew, Jeong Gi Joon, who is now the leader of Hidden Root and lives in disguise not far from King Se Jong.

This Drama was heavy, heavy, heavy. For a sageuk themed drama, with the glamour of a King and his followers… this has a fantastic story to tell.

Before checking this out, you, the viewer need the proper mindset before committing yourself into watching this series (unless you are already into this kind of genre). Why? Because this is too far away from being romcom or light. There are witty scenes where you find the “funny” but not so much, because it would be obliterated in a second by the realism of the situation the characters are in. Watching this drama was heart racing, mind boggling and most of all tear jerking if you get to finish this in one go.

It was also frustrating being in the perspective of the king – because a person with so much wealth and power could be so helpless at the same time. *sigh*

My favorite character here was King Sejong – Han Seok Kyu’s portrayal of him was so convincing that my heart was moved every time he does or say something. His decisions throughout the drama was really something, because it amounts to the lives that revolve around him, one mistake means the death of someone and one right thing could lead to the abundance of the entire nation. His role was really something and his acting was so deep into the character, I tend to forget that he was only acting about the agony of a king who cherished his people.

Then here comes the King’s person: Kang Chae Yoon and So Yi.
These characters were portrayed by renowned artists – Jang Hyuk and Shin Se Kyung. Their roles were vital and important for the success of the king’s plan and well… the ending was very dreary but there’s that sense of fulfillment despite everything they have gone through. All in all their characters made this drama an unforgettable one.

The music isn’t that catchy or is something that would stick to your head forever, but it does add to the drama. As for the rewatch value, I would not want to re-watch this unless I want to depress myself or stress myself all over again, but over all this drama is still dear to my heart. I loved this drama and would highly recommend it to those who love watching sageuks involving historical documentations.

Tree With Deep Roots – will move you, haunt you and make you change your outlook about your given language. Because this drama depicts history and the people who sacrificed a lot to make things possible.